Automatic record changer



- 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 6, 1949 L. THEvNAz AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed March 9, 1944 D L@ m U n l il l oO u W\ K \\\\\\/M/ Dec. 6, 1949 L. THEvENAz 2,490,387

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER f Filed March 9. 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. e, 1949 L. THEvENAz 2,490,397

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed March 9, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 l llllllllll Dec. 6, 1949' L. THEVENAZ AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER 5 .Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 9, 1944 De@ 1949 L. THEVENAZ 2,490,387

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER Filed March 9, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 6, 1949 Switzerland, assigner to HermanirThorens So-.l Voi't: Anonyme; Sainte-Groix,V Switzerland; a

rm of Switzerlandf ApplicatiomMarclw, 1944, Serial No. 525,714

I'n Switzerland August-'221; 19`43'' The present invention` relates tov talking.' machines with automatic* record?. chang-ing device and fmore' particularly'touth'eikindf of" such talling machines in which al stackof records of-different' sizes is supported above the turntable on'v the shoulderl ofi ar rod passing through their central aperture, and a' push-lever is provided for push'- in-gthe lowermost' record: off'the stack clear offthe supporting shoulder and cause. the said record' to fall freely into-its playing'positon on the tur-n'- table.

It is an objectoffthisfinvention to provide' a simple and eilicient rod andE push-leverv assembly which is adapted to give to`y thel'owermost record` of the stack a lateral releasing displacement which is large enough to secure'a large'y displace-- ment of the ieeler for the selection of the recordfs-l size and to allow the provision ofl al single edge support' for both small and largey sized records:

FurtherV objects and? advantages: of this invention will? appear from the*r following description of two embodimentsrgivenby-Way of? examples: and shown in the accompanying: drawingsf.

. In the drawings:

Fig. 1- is anelevationalviewof one form of'th'ez invention, record-supporting memben being; shown partially in vertical section and therecordsebeing. shown in section;`-

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the upper part-l of the record-supporting member;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectionton line -III--III'z of'` Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4, is a crosssection.online-IV-IV4 offFigs... land 2;

Fig. 5 is an elevationalfview,withparts-inseca tion of asecond form ofthefinvention;

Fig. Sis a similar-vlewofj this secondfform' of; the invention, in position oi`- rest oftherecordA changing device;

Fig. '7 is a plan view-ofI the controlfmechanismy of the record changing:` deviceA thereof Fig. 8 is an elevation onenlaloged'scaleof?thev rod and. push-lever assemblyfthereof; and' Figs. 9, 1'0 and-'I1 are crossC sections takenwon In the'rst form oftheinvention represented. in Figs. 1 to 4, the talking machinecomprises a. turntable l,driven uniformly by a mechanismnoti shown. The shaft 21 SuppOrting the` turntable, carriesv a cranked.rod 3 the. inclinedlportiom olf.' which is formed, withanioiset upper` endf so. astoiorma shoulder adapted tosuimort astaoh of unplayed records 4 which are engaged by their 1 Claim. (C1. 274-10) 2` central aperture onfthefosetfupper end S'ofth'e cran'kedtrods,

Thef oifsetfupper'endr` 3? of' the cranked" rod" pre'-l stents-"af longitudinalgroovef'which contains arec` ordfreleasingilever:B=pivoted about a pin 'l and the lower end; of whichfisformed with' a nose. Tli'e noseihextends! abolitat thinner portion ofA thercy lindricalf periphery; of tlief offset upper' end 3' o ther rod; and its-cam move approximately' tangerr-` tially tothe'slfi'ouldeli'S.l

A'rblade'spring tscrewedon` the` bottomy of the groove; tendsfto hold:d the-'recordr releasing lever 6' into-itscrest position; The cranked rod` 3 isv held` in ai iixedf position by'af movable armv H. Ai rod; lrarrangedfor slldingfmovement in thearm" I I under" the: actionof amechanism' which willf be'. heneinaterdescribed` in connection with the sec'- ond; formJ ofthe invention, is` adapted to put-a. pressure-on the-record releasing lever 6i so` as to cause the nose 8 to push laterally the lowermost recordf ofi thestaok bythe amount' necessaryfto enableitto get olearvofthe-shoulder 5` and'tofalll freely by its ownaweight along the lower porti`o11 of.x the: crankedr rod 3 intov its-playing position onf.

thetumtablel; whilefthe' remainder of the stack; of reeor-dsis retainedf bythe upper face'of the nose 8; The lattervthen resumes its rest positiorn andthe'nevwlowermost record comes to lieon the? shoulder. 5:

In: the.l seconde form; ofu the invention shownim Figs; 5l to L1, the3 talking machine comprisesf aI tnrntablel I- driven. uniformlyv through thefulL shaft 2.by a motor. not show-n. This full shaftz.. carryingtheturntable I.' is provided at its-upper end with a cylindrical'recess 2l. in which is.piv oted` the. lower end of a cranked rod I3.Y The inclinedportlon ofthe ro`d'.|3V is formed with. an off.- setup'per--end I3l so Aas t'o form a shoulder I 5, adapted' to support the lowermost record 41 of ah stack- 4 ofunplayed records. The cranked rod; |3is 'heldin a ixed`position by a movable arm I l Tlie-oifsetupperend I3"of the cranked rod I3E hasaclrcularfcross"section'about an axis 22`; the

. crosssectiorr forming the'shoulder` I5 is alsocir cular aboutanotlieraxiszi; boththose axesaref parallel; inclined-with respect tothe axis ofthe shaftvzandroisetfrom eachother by a distance es.

The-middlelportlon- I 3"v of thecranked-rod has anselliptic cross section-and-forms an anglewith,- thee axes` 22, 23.` Thev horizontaldistance d be tween .-thefshoulder. lvandfthe-axis ofthe shaft: lhasf beenlchcsensothat a 30.y cm. record Y p ushedi oleanoLtheshouldenw-il1=per-form by iallingqaf4 lateraL. displa.cementK4 langeenough to release-:itl

also from an edge supporting surface 25 and to bring it along the trajectory X-X onto the turntable I. The edge supporting surface 25' is rated in such a way that a 25 cm. record resting on the shoulder I 5 of the rod has also its edge resting on the rim of this surface 26. It is thus seen that merely a single unmovable edge support is provided for both large and small records.

On the outside of the offset upper portion I3 of the cranked rod is pivoted about a pin I1 a record releasing lever I6 the lower end of which is formed with a nose I8 of a thickness at most equal to that of a thinnest record and having a semi-circular outline of a diameter equal to that of the upper portion I3 of the rod. This upper portion I 3 of the rod is thinned adjacent the nose I8 so that this nose can move approximately tangentially to the shoulder I5.

4 the gear 44, the shaft 45 and a cam 58 dependent on the shaft 45.

This cam 58 controls then by means of a device not shown the movements of the pick-up. The pick-up is raised above the record which has been played and is displaced laterally out of the surface of the turntable. The roller 42 then engages the cam 43; the lever 48 is displaced into 48' and actuates the push-lever I6 through the 4pieces 39, 38, 36, 38, thus releasing a new record from the shoulder I5. The pick-up is then A coil spring 21 tends to hold the record releasing lever I6 into its rest position in which the nose I8 is centered about the axis 22.

The extremity of a screw 28 screwed in the end portion 29 of a link 30 slidingly mounted in the arm I I is adapted to put a pressure on the upper end of the record releasing lever I6 whereby the latter is rotated in an anticlockwise direction and The link 38 which actuates the record releasing 2 lever I6 is arranged for sliding movement in the arm I I with which it is slidingly connected by the screws 3| and 32 guided in the longitudinal slots 33 and 34. It is held in rest position (Fig. 6) by a coil spring 35.

The linkA 38 is actuated by an eccentric comprising a roller 36 pivoted about the upper end 31' of a shaft 31 pivoted in the support 26. The roller 36 bears on the rim of a circular aperture 38 cut in the link 38. The lower end of the shaft 31 is connected by a crank 39 with the one end of a lever 48 the other end of which is pivoted by means of a slot 46 about a pin 4I. The lever 48 takes the position 48' (Fig. 7) under the action of a roller 42 fixed on the upper face of a gear 44 when on rotation of this gear 44 about the shaft 45 the roller 42 comes into contact with a cam surface 43 dependent on the lever 48. The lever 48 resumes then its position of rest under the action of a spring 41.

The gear 44 is driven by a pinion 48 fixed on the shaft 2 of the motor through a reversing pinion 49 pivoted on a plate 58 which in turn is pivoted about a pin 5I. This plate 58 can occupy two distinct positions: the iirst one in which the pin 52 fixed on the plate engages the notch 53 of a crank 54 pivoted about a pin 55 on the plate 56; the pinion 49 is then held away from the pinion 48 and thus the shaft 45 remains at rest.

When the needle of the pick-up (not shown) enters the nal groove of a record lying on the turntable I, an automatic stop device (not shown) rotates the crank 54 about 55 in the anticlockwise direction; the pin 52 is then brought clear of the notch 53 and the plate 58 rotates about the pivot 5I under the action of the spring 51 in the anticlockwise direction. The pinion 49 meshes then with the pinion 48 which rotates it together with brought back into playing position and its needle Venters the first groove of the new record to be played.

lA feeler 59 displaced by the fall of a 30 cm. record but situated out of the trajectory of a 25 om. record determines by means of a mechanism not shown the correct playing position of the pick-up according to the size of the record to be played.

A further roller 68 pivoted too on the face of the gear 44 engages then the pin 6I of the plate 58 and displaces the latter. about 5I in the clockwise direction until the pinions 48 and 49 are disengaged from each other; the pin 52 enters then the notch 53 of the crank 54 and the gear 44 is stopped.

The construction according to the invention presents the following advantages:

1) Owing to the large lateral displacement of the record falling along the cranked rod, only a single fixed edge support is needed for both small and large records.

(2) The feeler for the determination of the playing position of the pick-up has a larger stroke than the thickness of a 25 cm. record owing to the position of the shoulder I5 above the edge supporting surface 26 and the inclination of the latter.

(3) The record changing mechanism is independent from the size of the record to be played owing to the central record releasing lever.

(4) Owing to the central record releasing lever being pivoted in the upper end of the cranked rod and thus controlled from above the driving shaft 2 of the motor may be made compact thus more l robust than the hollow shafts used in other known constructions with a push-lever controlled from below.

(5) The central rod may be more easily removed.

What I claim is:

In a talking machine with automatic record changer adapted for playing a plurality of records in succession and comprising a frame, a rotatable driving shaft, a turntable on said driving shaft, a cranked rod extending upwardly from the center of said turntable and having an offset upper portion of a generally circular cross section forming a shoulder for supporting a stack of records engaged by their central apertures on said offset upper portion, a movable arm hingedly connected with said frame engaging said offset upper portion for holding said cranked rod in a fixed angular position, in combination, two at surfaces extending parallelly to the axis and on opposite sides of said offset upper portion, a pin extending through said offset upper portion perpendicularly to said fiat surfaces, a record releasing lever pivotally mounted at both extremities of said pin so as to partly embrace said oiset upper portion and having its lower end formed as a nose in form of a semi-circular ring of a diameter at most equal to the diameter of the central hole of the records, said nose being adapted to engage the edge of the central hole of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the l file of this patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date l 4,Gates Oct. 22, 1935 Slater Dec. 8, 1936 Habegger June 23, 1942 Holstensson et al. July 28, 1942 Becwar Aug. 25, 1942 Butler Aug. 31, 1943 Heins, Jr June 27, 1944 Ansar Feb. 3, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Oct. 27, 1938 

